Production packer and retrievable cementing tool



Nov. 16, 1954 w. F. CAROTHERS ET'AL 2,694,451

PRODUCTION PACKER AND RETRIEVABLE CEMENT ING TOOL Filed Jan. 16, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 (W lla NVENTORS F. CAROTHERS MCLARK A TTORNEV 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. CAROTHERS J. M CLARK a 9 x z ,u 3.

- 7 A 7'7URNEV Nov. 16, 1954 w. F. CAROTHERS EI'AL PRODUCTION PACKER AND RETRIEVABLE CEMENTING TOOL Filed Jan. ,16, 1952 1954 w. F. CAROTHERS EIAL 2,694,451

PRODUCTION PACKER AND RETRIEVABLE CEMENTING TOOL Filed Jan. 16, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 -11 I I 1' f 60 30 s I w 30 &

I zzvmvrozes WILLIAM F. CAROTHERS g yvlEs M. CLARK A TTORNEV United States Patent (3 F PRODUCTION PACK-ER, .RE'IRIEVABLEE William. F'. Carotlrerspflonston;.andeJames:M: (Hark;-

Midland, Tex.,. assignors 'touHoustom Engineers, 1 111%,"

Houston, Tern, a corporatiom'ofi Texan Application Januaryil i'lfiltserial him-266,712. 5 Claims. (Cl; I66.l126)' This inventionis directed to aproducti'on packenand',"

as..indicated, is more -particularly directed:to -a: toola adapted to be 'used in.=the bore -=0f.an -oil well or 'thev like and particularly at. the end: of: a tubing stringn A main object of'thesinventionaisato. avoid making. costly strips with. the tubing string into and' outuof the: bore of the well and to. furthen producerfrorrr different-.1

zones as well as to: providelmeans;-for'retrievingtaapora' tion of the packersetting;meehanism ithatiiis snotwdrillable.

One object of the invention iisto. prouideaa: drilla'blexv.

packer assembly so: thataif the .slipii-andfiorrpackerz be+ come fouled in the wel'l'the :same mayibeidrilledsnip and-.1

flushed out of .the bore.

A detailed object zof- 'thesinvention'. isatorprovide: such a tool witha packer:.settingportiomwhich canaibe released; by a left-hand threadxconnection andnrecoverednfromz. the. well along-with thestubingi string, thusfile'avingnthea. packer in-the hole. where :thtxsame. :may be drilled sup.

order to clear the hole.

Another detailed:.objeetzofctheinventioncis to provide a mechanically set-packer as:iii'stinguishelit:fromi:atpresn sure-operated packer,-, in;which therpackenzis set bymeans of the tubing string, thusweliminatingzganaaiextrantripxinn order to bring in upper sandsa.

A specific object of the invention is to:provide-:a packer of resilient materialusuch, as --rub.ber-ror-i:synthetic rubber-or substitutes having a=high carbon zcontenaithe packer body being surrounded=atvits :uppernandrilower" edges with lead sea-ling rings,'.which::proteet:1the.apaeken' body.

A further object: of the-invention iswto provide rawlatchs. back mechanism mounted--on: a: stinger connectedt'zto-q the lower end of the tubingstring the:latcmbaeksmechaa nism comprising a leftvhandwthreaded:sleeve'movablea.

upon a conical surface on'sthezstingera Thistrrenderseit possible to release the "tubing string and:.stinger; from-a the packer due to the provision of: complementary left.-v

hand threads on' a mandrel'upon which the-.packerlbody is mounted.

A still further object ofthe invention gistoprovide. means permitting rapid, easy;removal =of.--.a.stinger seal which facilitates the replacingofwmudon. the upper: producing zone if. the well isltoibe=a -dual1completionjqh. Another object of athe inventiontis totprovideaawpacker which can be set between ditferent zones-intaawellafter which the upper zone may-be washed in by removing the stinger from the packerand then by replacingthe stinger in the packer, theclower zone canzzbe swabbed in without removal of .thetubing' production':string from the well bore; thus. eliminating;expensiveztrips with the tubing producingstring.

Still another object of theinventionis-.=.to:-.-prov-ide-z means operable upon decisionof the. operator to abandonthe lower zone innthe form of a-packerwhiehntay be used as a bottom hole. .pl ug or,: if desired, which-can be squeezed through, thus cementing.ofiatherlower'zone without the necessity of .-setting,.ano.ther.\tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide. a:com-. bination of a. tubing .string,, packer-.setting,.,mechanism and stinger wherein, .if.fdesired,lthestubing,string .may

be removed along with .the packer. setting: mechanisnrand.

stinger and-may subsequently be used .on theother packer.

settings.

A .broad object. ofthe, invention istmprovide agitool.

very simple .in design. andz'arrangementt-of;partsand wherein the setting;mechanismnprovides-az toolnwhich:v

2,694,451 Patented Nov, 16, ,1954

iswimpossible toprematurely set. while going -into-=the' hole.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will bethereinafter described', together with other features ofathe inventions The-invention will .bevmore readily understood from: am: reading of the following specification and by ref--- erence: to the-accompanying drawings, in which an"eX- ample-tof themventionis. shown and wherein:

Fig. l and Fig, 1'A' are elevation 'views withone-half ofxthe ttool shown. in vertical section; v

Fig. land-Fig. 2.A-are elevations of a'modification withr'one-half thereof in. section;

Fig. 3 is a partial :verticalisection of a modification of the latch; mechanism. which. connects. the tubing string and the packer. .setti'ngmechanism;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of thatpart of the-.latch-back mechanism which is. mounted one the stinger.

Fig.5 is a.plan-.viewtakemfrom above-Fig. 4. Referring now- .to; the :drawings "and more: particularly to.Fig.. 1, it will be seen thatthe tubing .string l is connected .to.;the v.upper end. 3.;of the-upper: packer setting mechanismzbv'means of.a.'latcht2kwhich is spring loaded' and. is. pivoted :to: the .tubing .string.

The; upper tpackersetting. means. includes. a. friction block which .comprises= a cylindrical; memberhaving. an upper part3, a lower; part 5,.spaced wiper .pads. 6.lying between: such parts,: andslips and. an expander cone therefor.

Immediately below the lower. end-.5: of the friction block,, slipsx.7 aremounted .upon cone .8 so that upon" downward movement offithe slips the same areforced An.

outwardlyinto engagement with the casing wall. annulus. 9 is mounted below the cone 8, and has a depending," flange so. as. to encircle. thev upper edgeof. packer 10.;thisHannulus being formed of .lead.., In..the. same-manner, ,a lead ring-.11 is mounted at the lower. edge of the packer 10, these. lead. sealszperforming the dual function .of retaining thefree edges: of .the packer and .alsoiprotecting the packer. which is. preferably formedv Of rubberior-rubber-like material having a-highcarbon content.

The...lower.packer: setting-means comprises. a specially disposed cone .12. supported below the lower lead seal threadedin order to support the tailpipe 17 which can be perforated, as shown in Fig. 1.A, thus permitting therflow of production up through.:the stinger, the tubing string, and to the surface. This tailpipe-17 is closed at its. lower end, thus providing a seat for the compression. spring 19 which urges-the ball valve 18upwardly iznzto tight engagement with the lower endof 'thestinger Referring now to Fig.2, thev same general combination of parts is shown, this combinatiomcomprising the tubing string 1, packer and:packing mechanism described as above, stinger 22b, mandrel. 35, andlatch-back. mechanism .which will .be described hereinafter.

At. the upper end 3A of. thefriction block, left-hand settingthreads 4 areprovidedwhich matewith complementar-ythreadsuponthe tubing string :1 so that upon:

rotation tothe right the tubing stringl andistinger 2211 may be removed.

At the. upper" endisof the stinger 22b: a cylindrical memberz24=is threadedly connectedto the stinger by' means..:of..threads 21 and this member isin turn connected :to the tubing rstringqlby means of threads 20. A-conical=surface 26' is'provided on the exterior of the member. 24'. along which the latch back slip 28 (seeFig; 4) is designed to slide a definite distance, depending upon the; length: of the slots: 29a. This; latch back" slip or sleeve-1. hasexterior. left-hand threads 30' which mesh:v with. interior left-hand threadsx31 onthe upper end 536'- of the mandrel 35. The latch back slip is retained by means of beaded bolts which permit a small amount of radial movement, this depending upon the taper of the surface 26 and also permit longitudinal movement depending upon the length of the slots 29a. The shorter slots 29b impart resilience to the lower portion of .the latch back slip 28.

Sealing rings 23 and 31 are provided adjacent the lower end of the stinger to separate upper and lower production zones if dual completion is desired, and to prevent the lower zone from producing into casingtubing annulus above the packer. This embodiment of the invention differs from that depicted in Figs. 1 and 1-A in that the lower end instead of being provided with a tail pipe has pivoted thereto a spring loaded flapper valve 52. The spring has not been shown since it would merely complicate the drawings and the flapper valve 52 is provided with a sealing ring 53 adapted to contact the lowermost horizontal surface of the collar 40 which is threadedly connected to the mandrel 35 by means of the threads 39.

The lower slips 13 are retained by means of headed bolts 41 of somewhat the same character as described with respect to the bolts 25 of the latch-back mechanism.

The lower slip cone 12 is normally retained in position by means of a shear ring 38. When it is desired to set the packer a predetermined amount of upward force will shear the ring 38, thus permitting the slip cone 12 to rise and compress the packer while the slips 13 are forced into engagement with the casing.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a modification of the connecting means between the tubing string 1 and upper end 3B of the friction block is shown. In this form the latch 61 is provided with a left-hand thread which engages complementary threads on the upper end 33 of the friction block 5 and the latch is surrounded by a garter spring 62 which secures it to the tubing string. Coil spring 60 normally presses the latch radially outwardly so that the threads are in engagement. Disconnection may be made by rotating the tubing string to the right and the parts may again be reconnected by a straight downward movement.

This figure also shows the latch-back mechanism with the parts thereof connected and somewhat enlarged.

In operation mechanical setting of the packer is achieved by turning the tubing string 1 two or three turns to the right thereby releasing the upper left-hand threads 4 of Fig. 2 or the left-hand threaded latches 2 of Fig. 1 and 61 of Fig. 3. When this has been done the latch back slip 28 and the mandrel are free to move upwardly with respect to the friction block and upper slips 7 are set first by upward movement of the tubing string after the packer is positioned. Continuous upward movement will then set the lower slips. This upward movement relative to the friction block forces the upper slips 7 out on the cone 8 due to the holding action of the friction block. Inasmuch as the mandrel 35 Fig. 2-A is threadedly connected at its lower end with the collar 40, and in Fig. l-A the mandrel 29 is similarly connected to cylindrical member 14. The lower slips 13 are forced upwardly on the lower cone 12 which in turn forces the resilient packer radially outward into tight engagement with the interior casing wall, thus setting the packer.

The stinger," which is a term used herein to describe a hollow cylindrical sleeve-like member, this being the innermost member of the assembly, is then free to be unlatched by the latch-back slip 28. If it is desired to wash in the upper zone the stinger is disengaged entirely from the packer body by turning the tubing string to the right and pulling upwardly to a desired distance above the friction block whereupon the weighting material or mud in the tubing string may be displaced, inasmuch as the mud lies in the annulus formed by the interior surface of the casing and the exterior surface of the tubing string. After this washing operation the stinger can be again inserted into the packer body and latched into a locked position either by a straight downward movement of the tubing string where latches 2 of Fig. 1 or 61 of Fig. 3 are employed or by rotation to the left where the setting threads of Fig. 2 are employed.

If, upon exhausting the lower zone, the operator desires to squeeze off the lower zone since it is no longer productive, it is only necessary to unlatch the tubing string and stinger from the set packer body after killing --the lower zone.- The stinger -is then lifted from the packer body, the upper zone is sealed off with mud and the two zones are automatically separated mechanically with the flapper valve 52 of Fig. 2-A which closes by the pressure of a spring (not shown) when the stinger is removed. The mud in the tubing string may be displaced with cement slurry when the stinger has been replaced into the packer and it is then possible to proceed to squeeze the lower zone with cement by pushing the flapper valve open with the stinger. After this the stinger. may be again removed whereupon the flapper valve closes and the lower zone is sealed off without making a trip out of the bore and into the bore with the tubing string and the stinger.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided a squeeze tool and production packer wherein the packer is drillable and the setting tool 1 and stinger are retrievable. It will also be noted that the packer setting tool can be released and recovered leaving the packer in the well which can be subsequently drilled up to clear the hole. In addition to the foregoing it will be noted that a mechanically set packer is employed and that it is operated by the tubing string thereby eliminating extra trips to bring in the upper sands. Protective lead seals have been provided above and below the packer.

A wide departure from prior art mechanism resides in the latch-back mechanism which permits release of the major portion of the tool from the packer once it has been set but where if desired, the major portion of the tool may be again connected to the packer.

Finally, it will be noted that a means has been provided to avoid making costly trips with a tubing string into the well. After the lower zone of the well has been exhausted operations may still be performed with respect to the upper zone or zones of the well and the lower zone may be sealed off without pulling the tubing string from the well.

It will be obvious that modifications may be made by those skilled .in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is our desire to cover all such modifications as come within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a tubing string, a stinger connected to the lower end of said string, a mandrel surrounding said stinger, a packer mounted on said mandrel, packer setting means releasably connected to said string and means connecting said stinger and said mandrel, said means comprising a threaded sleeve mounted on a conical surface on said stinger, being movable with respect thereto and complementary threads located upon the interior surface of said mandrel, said threads being left-handed and said threaded sleeve having slots therein with head bolts secured to said stinger and lying in said slots to permit a limited amount of radial and longitudinal movement.

2. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a tubing string, a stinger connected to the lower end of said string, a mandrel surrounding said stinger, a packer mounted on said mandrel, packer setting means slidable on said mandrel and releasably connected to said string and disconnectable from said string to expand said packer upon upward movement of said string and mandrel relative to the packer setting means and means releasably connecting said stinger and said mandrel, said means comprising a threaded sleeve, mounted upon a conical surface on said stinger, means non-rotatably mounting said threaded sleeve on said conical surface, for longitudinal movement with respect thereto and complementary threads located upon the interior surface of said mendrel engageable and disengageable with said threaded sleeve and whereby the string, stinger, and mandrel are movable together when connected and the string and stinger are removable from the packer setting means, packer, and mandrel which may be left in the well bore.

3. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a tubing string, a stinger connected to the lower end of said string, a mandrel surrounding said stinger, a'packer mounted on said mandrel, packer setting means slidable on said mandrel, and including friction means adapted to engage the interior surface of a casing, said packer setting means being initially releasably connected to said string by a spring-loaded latch pivoted to said tubing string and cooperating left-hand threads on said latch and said packer setting means to maintain said packer setting means in non-packer setting position and releasable from said string to set said packer, and means releasably connecting said stinger and said mandrel whereby the string, stinger, and mandrel are movable together when connected and the string and stinger are removable from the packer setting means, packer, and mandrel which may be left in the well bore.

4. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a tubing string, a stinger connected to the lower end of said string, a mandrel surrounding said stinger, a packer mounted on said mandrel, upper packer setting means slidable on said mandrel, and including friction means adapted to engage the interior surface of a casing, said packer setting means being initially releasably connected to said string by cooperating left-hand threads on said friction means and said tubing string, lower packer setting means mounted on said mandrel and movable therewith whereby, upon disconnection of said string from said upper packer setting means and upward movement of said string and mandrel relative to said packer setting means, said packer is set, and means releasably connecting said stinger and said mandrel whereby said string and stinger may move as a unit when connected and said string and stinger may be removed from said mandrel and packer upon disconnection.

5. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a tubing string, a stinger connected to the lower end of said string, a mandrel surrounding said stinger, a packer mounted on said mandrel, upper packer setting means slidable on said mandrel, and including friction means adapted to engage the interior surface of a casing, said packer setting means being initially releasably connected to said string, lower packer setting means mounted on said mandrel and movable therewith whereby, upon disconnection of said string from said upper packer setting means and upward movement of said string and mandrel relative to said packer setting means, said packer is set, and means releasably connecting said stinger and said mandrel, whereby the string, stinger, and mandrel are movable together when connected and the string and stinger are removable from the packer setting means, packer, and mandrel which may be left in the well bore, said packer being composed of rubber having a high carbon content and having its upper and lower ends surrounded by flanged annular lead members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

